Mailbag: Peace trumps money on Fourth

In Mayor Pro Tem Matthew Harper's commentary ("Time to add more freedom to the Fourth," Mailbag, Sept. 12), regarding his desire to have the ban on fireworks lifted in Huntington Beach, the very clear message he is sending is that he values money over the quality of life for residents and the pets that these fireworks terrorize.

I, too, believe in students who need funds to benefit music, athletics and other programs at our high schools. I also care about our students being able to reach their goals and achieve. I also know there are many ways they can do this, not only by the sale of fireworks.

I do not believe that we should allow the needs of a few to diminish the quality of life of others. There are many ways students can raise funds besides one that causes such harm to innocent animals and disrupts residents' sleep and peace of mind.

I enjoy fireworks, but not on every street in the city and not every night for weeks before and after the Fourth of July. It is time for those who have so little regard for the quality of life that they destroy to not be appeased by politicians like Matthew Harper who put money over residents' comfort.

Please remember the next time you go to the vet to get tranquilizers for your animals because of fireworks, or when you are awakened at 1 in the morning from a loud bang, that Harper is one of the reasons.

Janet Bean

Huntington Beach

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Ignoring climate change ignores facts

It disturbs me that global warming is still being denied because unsupported opinions prevent viable solutions from being considered.

The human effect on climate change must be taken seriously. As Dr. Charles Keeling shows with his Keeling Curve, the concentration of C02 in the atmosphere is clearly driven by the burning of fossil fuels.

Although 2012 marked the hottest year on record, it looks as though 2013 will be even hotter. Extreme weather conditions and higher temperatures are not only affecting the environment but are also costing taxpayers money.

Superstorm Sandy, wildfires on the West Coast and a drought in the Midwest cost U.S. taxpayers more than $100 billion last year. Yet some politicians continue to deny the existence of climate change.

Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach), a member of the congressional science committee, described global warming as a fraud and a plot by liberals to create global government to control our lives.

Science proves Rohrabacher wrong. Ninety-seven percent of top climate scientists have come to the same conclusion: Man-made pollution is warming our planet. Plenty of good information is available on the web, including at RealityDrop.org.

First, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is not some bloated government panel of misfits. Information can be found on the United Nations' own webpage. According to the U.N., the panel consists of 12 full-time employees and has an annual budget of $9 million. Sounds like a bargain.

The writer states that 37,000 scientists dispute these findings. Who are these scientists? They don't work for NASA; they don't work for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

As It stands now, 97% of climate scientists agree that global climate change is happening, and it's man-made. So that leaves 3% opposed — a pretty small number. We did not even have this great a consensus about smoking. Remember the advertising tagline, "More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette"?

The Internet is a strange and wonderful place. People can find information to back almost any belief, real or imagined. However, if they stick to credible sources, they can make an informed decisions.

So the writer's statement that she objectively sought out all the facts just doesn't pass muster. Her solid backing of our own Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa) is a concern. Rohrabacher's statement that trees release too much CO2, and therefore we should clear-cut forests, proves my point.